"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses."
Alphonse Kerr

Ps 91 (NKJV)

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the perilous pestilence.4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,6 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

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Monday, August 5, 2013

Picking myself up

The old phrase comes to mind about picking oneself up by their bootstraps.

If you've never heard it, it basically means sucking it up and moving on, taking care of what needs to be done, or as David puts it in Psalm 42:5 (and other places), "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance."

Far too much of my time this summer has been spent wallowing in...something. I'm not sure what--self-pity, depression, fatigue. Whatever it was, I've decided I'm done with it now. I've decided to pick myself up by my bootstraps and get over it.

Will it be that easy? Nope. I'll probably have to remind myself EVERY DAY to do it again. And again. And again.

Happiness is a choice.

Joy comes from the Lord.

Yet again I go back to the two Scriptures sticky-noted to my computer background:

And:

What other promises do I need, except that my God is always with me and is there to help me through--not necessarily around--whatever problem I encounter.

So here is my public declaration. I will no longer wallow in whatever it is. I will pick myself up, and I will take the next step and then the next. And if I make a mistake and go in the wrong direction, I will turn back and try again.

I think I'm afraid that my next step will be wrong and so, instead of moving forward, I am standing in one place. Have you ever taken a step, and found out later it was totally wrong? How did you change direction?

I have come to believe with a surprising depth that that nothing is wasted with God. He can even use the missteps we take and make. The only perfection that He desires from me is obedience...and when we "fail" at that there is grace. And for that I am abundantly grate-full!